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White Sox offense explodes: Will it translate to regular season?

By Darrell Hersman

GLENDALE, AZ - MARCH 03: Jose Abreu #79 of the Chicago White Sox bats during a spring training game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Camelback Ranch on March 3, 2016 iGlendale, Arizona. (Photo by Rob Tringali/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, AZ - MARCH 03: Jose Abreu #79 of the Chicago White Sox bats during a spring training game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Camelback Ranch on March 3, 2016 iGlendale, Arizona. (Photo by Rob Tringali/Getty Images) /
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CHICAGO, IL – JULY 30: Tim Anderson #7 of the Chicago White Sox is safe at first base as Carlos Santana #41 of the Cleveland Indians can’t handle an errant throw during the third inning on July 30, 2017 at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by David Banks/Getty Images) /

These guys can run

At the major league level, the White Sox offense has more speed than most. This was recently detailed by Southside Showdown’s Kristen Bentley.

Adam Engel went first to home during Tuesday’s offensive outburst, and it felt like he stepped on home plate about an hour before the ball made it back to the infield. The guy who doubled him home, Yoan Moncada, has about as much speed as anyone on the team.

Tim Anderson, Moncada’s double-play partner, looks like a wide receiver streaking across the middle infield. Anderson’s long strides make the 90 feet from base to base look like nothing. The defense also benefits from this speed, as Engel and Charlie Tilson can seemingly catch anything ticketed for outfield grass, and possibly destined for the seats, too.

Ryan Cordell is much faster than he appears. Guys like Jose Abreu, Avisail Garcia, and Nicky Delmonico are deceptively fast. I’m using a loose definition of “fast” here, but they’ve been known to sneakily steal a base from time to time. Abreu told reporters earlier in the spring he wants to steal more bases, and given the team’s overall speed, more stolen bases are a distinct possibility. Don’t forget about Leury Garcia, who ranks near the top of the team’s most fleet-footed list.

Shout out to Luis Alexander Basabe. This dude covers ground in the field and on the basepaths as quickly as anybody. Chances are, however, he’ll spend more time in the minors than the others.

Full of hustle

Ricky Renteria accepts nothing but 100% hustle from his players. He expects full effort on defense, and the team obliged in 2017. The White Sox lead the major leagues in Out of Zone plays (OOZ) last season. Players tend to feed off this type of energy. If a guy gives every defensive chance his all, teammates feed off the hustle.

Players with non-stop motors push teammates to do all sorts of things on and off the field. Yolmer Sánchez treats each at-bat and defensive chance as if it’s to win the World Series. He challenges his teammates to do the same. Yolmer also has an ability to loosen things up, especially with teammate Tim Anderson. This is also evidenced by a dugout piggy-back ride this spring (Anderson on top of Little Big Man Sánchez).

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